Warrington Wolves kept the pressure on Hull KR and Wigan Warriors with a comfortable 24-6 win over Leeds Rhinos at Magic Weekend that was orchestrated by full-back Matt Dufty.
The Man of Steel front-runner scored a hattrick to take his Super League season tally to 17 tries, however, he was almost hooked off minutes before he grabbed his first try minutes after David Fusitu’a’s sin bin.
That was what Sam Burgess confirmed post-match when speaking with The Warrington Guardian as he revealed that the injury Dufty suffered almost saw the full-back hauled off minutes before his scoring spree started.
“We nearly brought him off about five minutes into the second half,” the Warrington Wolves boss revealed.
“Something happened and play stopped for a while, so we decided to get him a bit further into the game, then as play went on he warmed up a bit.”
Not only did he warm up, Dufty broke the game open and scored three tries to earn another Man of the Match medal and take his season tally for tries and assists to 36, a figure that leads Super League.
Burgess didn’t reveal what exactly the injury was but Dufty was seen limping around the field for periods in the second-half and his availability for Friday’s clash with Castleford is unclear. Burgess simply added: “He’ll be sore tomorrow and we’ll see where he’s at this week.”
Since then, Martin Gleeson has held a press conference confirming that Dufty will not play against the Tigers with the full-back set for a scan, however, it is being viewed as precautionary.
Warrington Wolves forward suffers set back
Credit: Imago Images
Whilst Warrington Wolves had an incredibly strong side out on the pitch at Elland Road, they were still missing one of their signings of the season in Lachlan Fitzgibbon.
The second-rower has not played since early July, back in Round 16, with a pre-existing back injury troubling him. He had been expected to return to the fray some time soon but Burgess has confirmed that the timeline has been delayed.
“We’ve given him another couple of weeks just to take the pressure off him,” the Warrington Wolves boss explained.
“He’s been trying to play every week and it’s a bit of a rollercoaster when you’re doing that without ever quite getting there.
“We’ve taken the heat off him now and given him a couple of weeks to really attack his prehabilatation and stuff a bit more.
“There’s no rush with him. We’ve got a healthy squad at the moment, so there’s no point taking a big risk with him.”
That healthy squad has recently seen Joe Philbin return to the forward pack and John Bateman land from the NRL with the club’s forward pack undoubtedly one of the best in Super League, meaning preserving Fitzgibbon for the playoffs seems a wise plan.
Rugby League News
Exiled rugby league star offered surprise comeback
